The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has filed a lawsuit against Whitney Houston's estate following the latter's attempt to auction her 1986 Emmy Awards trophy.
Houston won the trophy in a televised Emmy Awards ceremony in 1986 for her performance of the hit song Saving All My Love for You.
The trophy was pulled out on Friday from an auction organized by the late pop queen's estate along with Heritage Auctions. The auction includes some of Whitney's cherished items such as trophies from People's Choice Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, and American Music Awards. It also includes other items such as dresses won by the multi-awarded singer as well as the earrings she wore to her wedding.
Heritage Auctions, which was named in the lawsuit along with representatives of Houston's estate, pulled the trophy from the auction after a court injunction.
In the lawsuit, the organizers of the Emmy Awards claimed that selling the trophy would undermine the statuettes prestige and reputation, and argued that when an artist takes home the Emmy Award, it is considered on loan. They further declared that the statuette cannot be resold and can only be kept by the heirs of the deceased winner. They stated that if the estate gives up ownership of the statuette, then it will go into storage in memory of the recipient.
The President of Heritage Auctions Greg Rohan disputed this, however, arguing that over 40 Emmy Awards have been resold in auctions throughout the years and that the organizers did not block any of those sales.
Whitney Houston was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2007. Doctors attributed her death to heart disease and cocaine. While Whitney was very popular and made a lot of hits, she also struggled with substance abuse.
